Year #9 is in the books! This week MDA Campers are enjoying a week of fun in the sun at MDA Summer Camp because of events such as ours!

We would not be able to host this show without the support of sponsors, donators, participants and volunteers. Thank you to our sponsors and donators that make it possible to take less out of the profits from the day of the show. Thank you to our participants! You spend hours (or days) detailing your pride and joys. Some of you drive for hours just to be at our show. While at the show, you buy raffle tickets, 50/50 tickets, bid on the silent auction items, and have lunch at Hooters. Because of Hooters generous support (they donated $400.00 from sales that day!) and our sponsors and participants we were able to make a donation to the Central IL office of the Muscular Dystrophy Association for $3500.00! This will allow 4 kids to go to camp next year or might find the cure!

It has always been my goal to raise $5,000.00 and maybe next year on the 3rd Saturday of June, we will be able to reach that goal!

To the volunteers: You are the lifeline of this show. You get here at 5:00am (or the night before), set things up in the rain, in the humid hot sun, listen to me stress out, and still everything gets done! You spend the day out in the blazing sun. Then you stick around and pack things up. I may not say it enough, but Thank You from the bottom of my heart!

Discounted Pre-Registration will close at 6PM on Thursday, June 18th, 2015!

As a young girl, we used to stay up all night watching the MDA Telethon. When I was old enough I volunteered and went door-to-door to raise money. Little did I know then that the MDA would become a vital part of my live. First it was for information on Charott-Marie-Tooth. We made our first visit to an MDA clinic when Carri was 3 years old. Since that time the central IL chapter of the MDA has guided me through the red tape of an IEP, (and the knowledge for what was right). Assisted us when it was time for Carri to start therapy. Directed us to those that could help us with the needed surgeries. And of course the many sets of AFO’s (leg braces). Then there is summer camp! Summers spent doing things that all kids want to do! Support from the camp buddies and other campers with advice of how to navigate those teen years and the cruelty of those that didn’t know the truth. Many fond memories and life long friends. Now we focus on the research in finding a cure. Not just for Carri’s type of muscular dystrophy, but for the 40+ different types. This is why we host this event.

Gates for registration open at 9:00am, so bring your pride and joy, tell others, bring other members of your car club! Even if you do not have a show car and want to support the MDA, please take a few minutes to stop by and enjoy the beautiful vehicles. Have lunch at Champaign Hooters as they donate a percentage of their days sales to the show. Drop some change in any of the buckets available. Make it a family day!

Other ways to help out are available as well. We still need sponsors for the 18 different classes as well as specialty awards. Raffle prizes and auction items are still needed too. Volunteers are always welcome!

Thank you to all those that have supported this show over the past 8 years! It would not be the success that it is without you!
See you all in a few days!!
Vicki & the Show Team

With 61 days until the show, pre-registration has just been OPENED! We’re excited to see where 2015 leads us.

VOLUNTEERS: We are still looking for volunteers to pass out flyers as well as those who can help out on June 20th! If you’re interested, please contact Vicki Wilborn at (217) 344 – 0610.

SOCIAL: We want to see your rides! Whether you’re in the process of detailing or just freshly detailed, use the hashtag #WHYICRUISE when posting your photos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

SPONSORSHIPS: Have an idea of a company or individual that would be interested in sponsoring our event? We want to know! They’ll get FREE advertisement on our website, in our social media blasts, AND in our e-mail updates!

Another year is in the books and because of your support it was our best year yet! We had 111 registered participants with 109 attending the day of the show. Thank you to the individuals and businesses that donated items for the raffle and silent auction or sponsored trophies. To our participants that endured the heat, traveled many miles, we thank you from the bottom of our heart. Your vehicles were top notch. Our judging teams had a really hard time and there were numerous ties in several classes. Not only did you bring your pride and joys to our show; you supported the raffle, silent auction, 50/50 drawing,cash grab bag and made donations. It is because of everyone’s support that we will be able to help send at least 4 children to MDA summer camp or aid in research to find a cure. The amount, including the donation from Hooter’s, this year will be $3,800.00! We would not be able to do this without your help.

A special thank you to all those that volunteered. We know that you are the backbone of this show and it may not be said enough, but you are appreciated and we could not do it without you.

If you have photos from the show, please post the link on our Facebook page and we will add a link to our website.

We look forward to next year, June 20, 2015, and with everyone’s support we will be able to surpass this year’s great show.

Our show is less than a month away and we are in major planning mode. Things have been rather slow with registrations this year so I would like to encourage everyone to get those entries in. You may go on line or send them in the mail to me. Pre-registration is $15.00 and it is $20.00 the day of the show.

There seems to be a little bit of confusion on the date of the show. Our show is on June 21st, not on Father’s day weekend. I know some of you may have gotten a flyer to the Hot Rod show in Rantoul which accidentally said that you may attend their show after attending the MDA Benefit Show. Our shows are not on the same weekend this year. (thank you Hot Rod and Hooligans for the mention of our show) So now you will not need to decide which show to attend if you only wanted to do one show. Please join us on June 21st at Hooters in Champaign!

We are still needing sponsors for many of the classes. The more sponsors we get the more we are able to donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The MDA is very close to a cure for several of the different types of MD. The grants that are needed to continue this research comes from donations made by events such as ours. As always we also would like to be able to help send as many children as possible to summer camp. It costs over $800.00 per camper and this cost is covered by the MDA, not the families. You all know that we have some really nice items for the raffle drawings; but that also is slow in coming this year. We are going to have the silent auction again this year. If you, or someone you know, have something that can be donated for the raffle or the auction please feel free to contact us. (Or just bring it the day of the show).

We would like to be able to enter the day of the show in the “black” again so that every registration, raffle ticket, 50/50 ticket and silent auction item sold is pure profit. (ALL PROFIT IS DONATED) With that being said, give that extra flyer to your friends, tell your car clubs or just stop by and have lunch at Hooters. Hooters will once again be donating a percentage of the sales from that day to the show. So call your friends and meet up for lunch!

This show would not be the success that it has become without the support of the community and our participants. We look forward to see you all again on June 21st! Registration is from 9:00am until noon the day of the show.

A month later, BUT THE SCORES AND CONTRIBUTORS ARE UP! We just wanted to make sure that we had all the data properly compiled and that we didn’t forget anyone!

So, we would like to thank all of our sponsors that made it possible to start this years show in the black! All the proceeds from this years show will be completely donated to the Central IL Muscular Dystrophy Association! To all those that donated items for the raffle drawing, we thank you! Raffle sales brought in over $300.00! To the volunteers; You make this show run so smoothly and you all are the best!! To all of our participants; Thank you would never be enough for supporting our show. You attend, buy tickets, donate money and stand in the rain to receive your awards. You are the best and are the reason that our show has become a quality show in Central Illinois.

Listed below are all the participants from the show, starting with the first place in each class. Specialty awards, participant choice and best of show are also listed. If you would like to know your personal score please contact me by e-mail or by phone (after 6:00pm) 217-344-0610. If you took any pictures this year, feel free to post them on our Facebook page! See you all next year!!!

However…. If you can’t make the car show, PLEASE consider making a donation… If you could spare some change, even $5 makes a difference. $25 gets your name on our sponsor boards the day of the show for everyone to see! Our donate page is: http://www.mdabenefitshow.com/home/?page_id=14. Thanks for taking the time to read this, have a great day!

Thank you ALL for your continued support! Please pass the word along to all your family and friends!

The show is only TWO WEEKS AWAY! I hope everyone has their calendar marked for June 15th. Preregistration is still open as well as sponsorships and donations. Trophies have been ordered and I have received the first draft of the dash plaques. We are still in need of sponsorships and raffle prize items. At this time I have not received any items to be used for the silent auction. Even goody bags will be on the slim side this year. I know that it has been a rough year for a lot of folks, both businesses and individuals. Every little bit helps! The more sponsorships we receive the less that will have to be taken out from registrations and donations the day of the show. Remember that all profits from this show goes to the Central IL Muscular Dystrophy Association. This office organizes clinics in three different locations within the 45 counties that it serves. They offer support groups, medical equipment, support vital research and provide summer camp free of charge. None of this would be possible without benefits such as this show.

Registration the day of the show will begin at 9:00am and close just before noon. Judging will begin at noon. John Bramley for the “Best of the Best” show will be on hand to pick his choices to receive invitations to his show in Brighton, IL. Remember that this show is by invitation only. We will have JD’s DJ services provide music for the day. There will be drawings for the raffle prizes every hour, a door prize has been donated by Hagerty Insurance. We will have a 50/50 drawing and a cash grab bag. The Hooter girls will be handling ticket sales again this year. They will also take pictures with your ride!

Hooters has donated a percentage of its sales from lunch in the past. Now they have increased that by including breakfast! That’s right, Hooters is going to offer breakfast just for us the day of the show. They will have a buffet style breakfast available from 9:00am until 11:00am which will include eggs, sausage, pancakes and Orange Juice all for the cost of $7.99 per person. Only the buffet will be available during this time. (Hardee’s will not be providing any percentage this year) So come early, do some cleaning on your vehicle and then go on over to Hooters for breakfast. They will donate a percentage of their sales until 5:00pm that day. Even if you are not a participant of the show you can still support us by visiting the show, drop some change in the donation bucket and then go to Hooters for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

If you are not able to attend our show, you now have another option to show off your rides for the kids. Mark Hartman is organizing the first ever “Cruisin’ Towards Cures For Campers Miracle Ride Car Show”. This show will take place at Timber Point Campgrounds in Hudson, IL on Sunday July 14th. For more information visit their Facebook page or contact Mark at wi-hartman@comcast.net.